U.S. News and World Report Ranks MLH No. 27 in Orthopedics

Published On 07/16/2010

MEMPHIS – U.S. News and World Report magazine Best Hospitals 2010-11 named Methodist Hospitals of Memphis as #27 in the nation for orthopedic care. Methodist Hospitals of Memphis includes Methodist University Hospital, Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital, Methodist North Hospital and Methodist South.

“Methodist is very honored to be included in this prestigious listing,” said Gary S. Shorb, president and CEO of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. “We take pride in our orthopedic services and the physicians who partner with us daily to provide outstanding patient care.”

"When the stakes are high, you want the best care you can get for yourself or someone close to you," said Health Rankings Editor Avery Comarow.

The rankings in 12 of the 16 specialties were driven by hard data such as death rates, procedure volume, and balance of nurses and patients. In the four remaining specialties--ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation, and rheumatology--hospitals were ranked on reputation alone.

To be considered in any of the 12 data-driven specialties, a hospital first had to meet at least one of four criteria: It had to be a teaching hospital, or be affiliated with a medical school, or have at least 200 beds, or have 100 or more beds and the availability of four or more types of medical technology considered important in a high-quality medical facility, such as a PET/CT scanner and certain precision radiation therapies.

Next, the hospitals had to meet a volume requirement, individually calculated for each specialty. The required volume was the number of Medicare inpatients from 2006 to 2008 who had various specified procedures and conditions in the specialty. A hospital that fell short could still qualify if it had been nominated by at least one physician in any of the U.S. News Best Hospitals reputational surveys conducted in 2008, 2009, and 2010.